The remilitarisation of the Rhineland

• In 1919, the Saar, an important mining area, was placed under the control of the League of Nations for a period of 15 years. When that time ran out, a vote was held to see whether local people wanted to return to German rule. As around 90% of the population voted to return to Germany, the area was returned to German rule. Hitler was delighted, and claimed the vote showed how popular he was
• The Rhineland is the area around the river Rhine in Germany. It borders France and the river itself makes a natural defence against invasion. Under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, the Rhineland remained in Germany but troops, weapons or fortifications weren't allowed in the area
• Hitler knew that in order to gain territory (Lebensraum) in the east he would have to invade other countries. This would most likely provoke a response from countries like Britain and France, so Hitler had to start defending Germany's borders in the West. The remilitarisation of the Rhineland was key to this
• In 1935 France and the USSR signed the Franco-Soviet Pact, an agreement to support each other if either was attacked by Germany. Hitler used this pact to claim that Germany was under threat, having enemies on both western and eastern fronts. He responded by sending 22,000 troops into the Rhineland on 7th March 1936
• The troops were greeted with civilians who gave them flowers. Hitler had been relying on such a welcome; many of the troops had arrived on bicycles and there was no air support. Hitler knew that his army was still small, and even instructed his generals to retreat if they were greeted by any resistance
• Hitler later admitted 'if the French had taken any action we would have been easily defeated; our resistance would have been over in a few days'
• Hitler took a big risk in sending troops to the Rhineland, because he was breaking treaties such as Versailles and the Locarno Treaty, France could have stopped the resistance easily, and his army generals warned him against sending troops in case France upheld the Treaty of Versailles and sanctions were imposed on Germany
• Britain and France didn't force Hitler to remove troops, because British troops were already dealing with conflict in Abyssinia, and the French army had been moved to Tunisia to potentially intervene; people in Britain felt Germany had the right to protect its own borders, the depression hit them hard, and the Peace Ballot voted against war; in France politicians were fighting a general election, and Generals believed Hitler's army was bigger and better prepared than it was
• The international situation had changed, with the League of Nations concentrating on Abyssinia, Germany strengthening ties with Mussolini through the Pact of Steel, and Hitler's confidence increased dramatically
• Hitler secured his borders in the West - he could now turn his attention to the East to pursue his policies of Lebensraum and Anschluss
• Britain and France missed a key opportunity to stop Hitler